Specializations

Novel synthetic approaches in polymer chemistry

Molecular bottlebrushes

Polymer self-assembly

Nanoporous materials

Organic/inorganic hybrid materials

Research Summary

Our research program embraces all the steps of a successful materials design, from building tailored polymer structures and architectures to analyzing their supramolecular organization and self-assembly to testing their final macroscale properties. The main thrust is centered around shape-persistent macromolecules, such as bottlebrush copolymers, as building blocks for nanoscale assemblies and functional materials. Our research focuses on synthesizing complex macromolecular architectures and developing understanding how these molecules come together to form a solid state material or discrete assemblies in solution. We are interested in developing nanoporous materials for membrane applications and water purification, organic/inorganic hybrid materials for separations and catalysis, ultrahigh pitch periodic nanostructures for photonic applications, ultralow pitch periodic nanostructures for nanopatterning, and polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery. Multidisciplinary nature of the program allows students to acquire diverse synthetic and analytical skills and develop broad scientific vision.